172 Hours on the Moon

172 Hours on the Moon
by Johan Harstad

It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever.

 

Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune.

Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan.

Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I was very impressed with this science fiction thriller.

 

Though it is a little slow starting, the tension eventually builds into a spine-chilling ending.  This is the book for someone who doesn't need a happy ending.  This is the book for someone looking for realism and just a touch of horror.

 

This book has many characters and changes perspectives quite frequently, though you could say that Mia could be considered the "main character."  It actually makes it a little easier as the story goes on to be not quite invested in any specific character...

 

Whatever your suspicions may be along the way, the author manages to surprise readers with a bleak ending that will give you just the hint of nightmares for a few days...

 

Full disclosure: ARC received from Little, Brown books for Young Readers; Audio book received to review for AudioFile

The Black

The Black
by D. J. MacHale
Morpheus Road, book two

Cooper Foley always had a knack for finding trouble, but nothing he’s ever experienced could have prepared him for his latest adventure: He has landed square in the middle of a border war between the worlds of the living and the dead.

At the end of The Light, Book One of the Morpheus Road trilogy, Marshall Seaver learned the truth about what happened to his missing best friend, Cooper. Now, the mystery continues to unfold, only this time through Cooper’s eyes.

What did Marshall’s terrifying encounters with Gravedigger have to do with spirits from another existence? Who is Damon, and what role did he play in Cooper’s dilemma? Most importantly, what is the mysterious Morpheus Road? (description taken from the author's website)

When I got The Light to review for SLJ, I was not that excited. Horror isn't normally my thing. I was pleasantly surprised, though, and even though there were some gruesome moments, I ended up really liking it. So, when I got The Black to review, I was happy to be able to continue the story.

I was really excited when I realized that this second book was from Marsh's friend, Cooper's point of view. While the first book took place in our reality, the Light, and Marsh was haunted, the second book takes place in the second stage of the Morpheus Road, the Black.

MacHale has created an interesting new world with different stages of life and the afterlife. The Black is sort of like purgatory and is different for each person. I loved seeing how different spirits' visions of the Black touched and interacted. It was really cool to see how Cooper's relatives and neighbors were able to coexist without generational differences in the Black.

While the first book was super creepy, partially since Marsh made such a great victim, this second book delved more deeply into the actual world and even though it had creepy moments, it was more thoughtprovoking and definitely sets things up for a grand finale in the third book.

The thing that really cemented for me how much I loved this book was Cooper's voice. He's a really snarky, anti-authority kind of guy, but he's also loyal and caring to a fault. As things heat up for Cooper, he buckles down and does exactly what he thinks is right, even if no one else agrees. I think that the final book goes back to Marsh's voice and I will miss Cooper. (Plus Nick Podehl narrated and though I think it's funny that every D. J. MacHale book I've ever listened to has been narrated by him, he does a great job. He was REALLY good as Cooper)

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ